Knowing Yourself - A Medieval Romance

Chapter 19

Chapter 19  

Kay’s world was reduced to hesitant footfalls, the pained intakes of each breath, and the darkness that pressed in from every side. She had lost track of time and space. The torch created a flickering sphere of visibility immediately around them, but beyond that was a twisted, dream-like world of dripping water, fluttering bats, falling rocks, and musty, rank smells. The tunnels seemed to twist and turn without logic. She could have sworn that they doubled back enough times to be directly beneath the keep on at least five separate occasions.

There was never a glimpse of light, never the sound of pursuit, never the remotest sense that saviors were coming to draw her away from her captor.

She tripped over an outcropping for what must have been the hundredth time. She turned her head toward Galeron’s in the gloom.

“Please, can we rest for just -”

His left hand crushed down firmly on her arm, jerking her against him, and the torch flamed toward her face in a threatening gesture. She bit off her request with a quick intake of breath, turning her head from the glare and heat. He continued the forward trudge as quickly as they could manage across the rocky terrain.

A flutter of panic swirled through her heart. Until now Galeron had been many things, but a calm current of logic had always underpinned each of his actions. In this maze of inky tunnels and chaotic turns, however, his demeanor has begun to change drastically. He had taken to muttering to himself at intersections, cursing the uselessness of his lists and charts. His clutching grip on her arm had long since cut off the feeling in her hand. His movements had become short, furtive, the penned-in actions of a caged rat.

He stumbled to a stop before yet another separation of the tunnels, and Kay looked around her wearily. The combination of the strength of his grip, the heat of the flame, and the jagged pain in her legs meant that escape was the furthest thing from her mind. She was barely able to focus on staying upright, on remaining by his side in the labyrinth of stagnant pools and slimy slabs of stone. Kay knew these networks ran for miles and featured deep drop-offs and jagged pits. Every footfall was a risky proposition.

Galeron yanked her into motion, taking the left-hand tunnel, and her arm scraped a sharp-edged protuberance as she made the turn. She hissed in sharply, biting down on her pain, feeling yet another raw wound open up and trickle blood. She almost wished that she could spot a glimmer of light behind them, even if it meant she was injured as a result. At least then she would feel these red path markers she was leaving behind were acting as clues toward any who followed.

She chuckled wryly. Unfortunately, she was the one who had the sharp vision. Reese was the one who -

She drew in a quick breath, the thought coming to her. Reese’s talents were in his ability to pick sounds out of chaos, to hear the slightest murmur of information in a sea of noise. If she could just …

Her legs were dragging as she desperately struggled to keep up with Galeron, and she now paid focused attention to what she was doing with them. Galeron had already come to accept that she was less than stealthy in how she was able to move. Perhaps she could use that to her advantage.

The next time she moved her right foot, she let it hop along the surface of the floor, giving out an even rhythm.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

She glanced up at Galeron, her breath caught in her throat, but he did not hesitate a moment in his forward progress. He did not show even the slightest break in his wandering gaze as he pushed forward.

Her heart soared. Perhaps she could do some small part in helping Reese to find her. She knew with absolute certainty that he was behind them, was tracking them. He would rescue her, if only she showed him the way.